Qaouq Says Lebanon Can't Tolerate 'Anti-Resistance, Anti-Syria' President
Deputy head of Hizbullah's Executive Council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq declared Sunday that his party is seeking the election of a Lebanese president who is "feared by Israel," stressing that Lebanon cannot tolerate an "anti-resistance" and anti-Syria president.
"Lebanon is on the eve of a major national juncture that concerns every Lebanese, and Hizbullah is very concerned with the course of this presidential election and it is not neutral or a mere spectator,” Qaouq said.
“We are seeking to secure the election of a strong president who is feared by Israel and whom Israel would not want to see in the Baabda Palace,” the Hizbullah official added.
He defined a “strong president” as one who is “the strongest at the national level and whose election would represent a message of firmness and invincibility in the face of Israel and the takfiris.”
Qaouq called on “those betting on the election of an anti-resistance and anti-Syria president” to “cease these bets,” underscoring that “Lebanon does not tolerate such a president and it is not the right arena for foreign dictates and obligations.”
"Israel had bet on international resolutions to weaken the resistance and it failed, and it bet on the March 14 camp -- which had targeted and is still targeting the resistance's arms -- and it has also failed,” Qaouq added.
“After all these futile bets, the resistance today is at the peak of its strength and is living its best days at the political, military and popular levels,” he said.
President Michel Suleiman’s tenure ends on May 25, but the constitutional period to elect a new head of state began on March 25.
On Wednesday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced a presidential program that focused on “restoring the authority of the state against the proliferation of weapons during a time of regional unrest.”
He is the sole politician to have officially announced his candidacy for the polls, whose first round will be held on April 23.
The election is not expected to be an easy process amid a lack of agreement on a consensual candidate.
Y.R.
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